The room was hot, crowded, and loud, but Amba was having a fantastic time. She always had fun at parties; she found getting lost in the music, playing games, and meeting new people exhilarating. She especially enjoyed nights like this, when she and her sorority sisters were out to be flirtatious and inevitably became the life of the party. Ambika had recently broken up with her boyfriend, so Amba and Ambalika took her out to have fun and find somebody new.
Amba took a sip of her drink and scanned the room. She had to admit, there was a reason she had come to this particular party tonight. She had developed a crush on Steven from biology, and knew he would be here. They had started studying together, and she was hoping that it could grow into something more.
Steven caught her eye as she was scanning, and his conspiratorial grin made Amba's heart melt. They weren't anything yet, but she saw so much potential with him.
Meanwhile, an extremely attractive guy Amba didn't recognize was talking to Ambika and Ambalika. He seemed more mature than the rest of the crowd for some reason--maybe he was older, it was hard to tell. Regardless, Amba watched as the other two pointed towards her, and the trio began to make their way over to her.
The guy stuck his hand out and said, "Nice to meet you, my name's Brad. I was just telling your sisters that you all should come back to my apartment. A group of my friends are hanging out, and I'd really like you all to meet my friend Vince."
Amba read the excited expressions on the other girls' faces and nodded. However, on her way out, she snuck a glance in Steven's direction, wishing she could be going with him instead. She thought she saw him turn away with a conflicted expression on his face.
Back at Brad's apartment, he introduced them to Vince and his other friends. Ambika and Ambalika were immediately infatuated, moving into full flirtatious mode and hanging on Vince's every word. Amba, however, couldn't get Steven out of her head. She went over to Brad.
"Can you take me back to the party? There's someone there I'd really like to be with."
"Of course," Brad replied. "I never meant to take you somewhere you didn't want to be."
On her way back to the party, Amba decided that she would finally tell Steven how she felt, and ask him to get coffee with her the next day. But when she got there and went to talk to him, his expression was dark, conspiratorial grin gone.
"I don't know what you want from me," he said. "At first, I really thought we had a connection. But I saw you leave with that guy, and I saw the way he looked at you. I'm not dumb. I deserve someone who would actually be loyal to me. As far as I'm concerned, he's yours now."
Amba, hurt and frustrated that this random guy could just come out of nowhere and ruin her chances with Steven, went back to Brad's apartment. She stomped up to him and stabbed a finger in his chest.
"Well, now that you've ruined my chances with this guy, the least you can do is take me out to dinner."
"I'm so sorry, but I don't date. I wouldn't want to lead you on or give you false expectations" Brad actually did look regretful when he said this.
"Then what did you even bring us over here for?!" Amba cried. "I'll get back at you for this, mark my words."
As she stormed out of the apartment, she pulled out her phone and began looking for boxing gyms in the area.
Author's Note:
This story is based on the story of Amba, in the Mahabharata. Specifically, it's based off of this video, episode five of "Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution" from Epified. I really liked how this retelling slowed down and told some of the smaller stories in more detail, particularly this one, which is why it became the basis for my retelling here. In the story, Bhishma steals away Amba and her sisters for Vichitraveerya. Amba asks to leave because she loves a different king, but when she goes to him, he rejects her for being with someone else. Amba gets angry and demands Bhishma take her instead, but his vow of celibacy prevents him from doing so. Amba vows to turn into a male warrior and be the death of Bhishma.
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| At the party (Flickr) |
Amba took a sip of her drink and scanned the room. She had to admit, there was a reason she had come to this particular party tonight. She had developed a crush on Steven from biology, and knew he would be here. They had started studying together, and she was hoping that it could grow into something more.
Steven caught her eye as she was scanning, and his conspiratorial grin made Amba's heart melt. They weren't anything yet, but she saw so much potential with him.
Meanwhile, an extremely attractive guy Amba didn't recognize was talking to Ambika and Ambalika. He seemed more mature than the rest of the crowd for some reason--maybe he was older, it was hard to tell. Regardless, Amba watched as the other two pointed towards her, and the trio began to make their way over to her.
The guy stuck his hand out and said, "Nice to meet you, my name's Brad. I was just telling your sisters that you all should come back to my apartment. A group of my friends are hanging out, and I'd really like you all to meet my friend Vince."
Amba read the excited expressions on the other girls' faces and nodded. However, on her way out, she snuck a glance in Steven's direction, wishing she could be going with him instead. She thought she saw him turn away with a conflicted expression on his face.
Back at Brad's apartment, he introduced them to Vince and his other friends. Ambika and Ambalika were immediately infatuated, moving into full flirtatious mode and hanging on Vince's every word. Amba, however, couldn't get Steven out of her head. She went over to Brad.
"Can you take me back to the party? There's someone there I'd really like to be with."
"Of course," Brad replied. "I never meant to take you somewhere you didn't want to be."
On her way back to the party, Amba decided that she would finally tell Steven how she felt, and ask him to get coffee with her the next day. But when she got there and went to talk to him, his expression was dark, conspiratorial grin gone.
"I don't know what you want from me," he said. "At first, I really thought we had a connection. But I saw you leave with that guy, and I saw the way he looked at you. I'm not dumb. I deserve someone who would actually be loyal to me. As far as I'm concerned, he's yours now."
Amba, hurt and frustrated that this random guy could just come out of nowhere and ruin her chances with Steven, went back to Brad's apartment. She stomped up to him and stabbed a finger in his chest.
"Well, now that you've ruined my chances with this guy, the least you can do is take me out to dinner."
"I'm so sorry, but I don't date. I wouldn't want to lead you on or give you false expectations" Brad actually did look regretful when he said this.
"Then what did you even bring us over here for?!" Amba cried. "I'll get back at you for this, mark my words."
As she stormed out of the apartment, she pulled out her phone and began looking for boxing gyms in the area.
Author's Note:
This story is based on the story of Amba, in the Mahabharata. Specifically, it's based off of this video, episode five of "Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution" from Epified. I really liked how this retelling slowed down and told some of the smaller stories in more detail, particularly this one, which is why it became the basis for my retelling here. In the story, Bhishma steals away Amba and her sisters for Vichitraveerya. Amba asks to leave because she loves a different king, but when she goes to him, he rejects her for being with someone else. Amba gets angry and demands Bhishma take her instead, but his vow of celibacy prevents him from doing so. Amba vows to turn into a male warrior and be the death of Bhishma.
Hi Abby! I think this might be one of my favorite stories I have read because it was very entertaining to read. I think the amount of detail you put into it allowed me to actually visualize the story. I also loved the dialogue you incorporated into it. I think this could be a story you could expand on over the weeks. Overall, awesome job this week on the story!
ReplyDeleteI definitely laughed at the name choices. It was a very interesting story to read. I kept me wanting to read more and I like how you brought it up to date and made it more modern, that made the story easier to connect with. Overall a great story and I love that she immediately went to a boxing gym but maybe even try a mixed martial arts gym.
ReplyDeleteHey Abby! I really enjoyed your story. I thought it was a good modern adaptation of the story from the Mahabharata. I am glad that you wrote this story, because I do not remember much of the base story at all, but now I do! I thought it was a great story and I really enjoyed the visual details that you incorporated throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteHi Abby!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very realistic modern rendition of Amba’s story! It was very entertaining to read and the details are hilariously accurate. I like that we get a little backstory of Amba’s personality here, whereas her character before Bhishma is a bit neglected in the original story. I laughed at the “Steven from biology” detail. It is quite thought provoking that in your story, Amba willingly goes with Brad and is still rejected by Steven. It seems like in our modern time, it would indeed ruin Amba’s chances with Steven more if she went with Brad willingly as opposed to her getting drugged or kidnapped or something against her will.